Overhead Door starts anew in Norwalk

By CHRIS BOSAK Hour Staff Writer

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, December 19, 2011

Photo: 2011 The Hour Newspapers

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Hour Photo/ Alex von Kleydorff Cathy and Mark Hunihan, owners of Overhead Door Company of Fairfield County, stand in front of their new location on Broad Street in Norwalk. Below, operations manager, Patrick Kelly, in the showroom.

Hour Photo/ Alex von Kleydorff Cathy and Mark Hunihan, owners of Overhead Door Company of Fairfield County, stand in front of their new location on Broad Street in Norwalk. Below, operations manager, Patrick

NORWALK -- Mark and Cathy Hunihan are bringing their "ribbon" to Norwalk.

The ribbon is the logo for the Overhead Door company and the term is also used to describe the franchise itself. The Hunihans already have ribbons in Brookfield and Waterbury.

Mark Hunihan has worked in the garage door industry since 1978 and Cathy since 1989. They opened their first Overhead Door franchise in 1994 in Brookfield and they took over the Waterbury location three years ago. They were contacted recently by the corporate offices about taking over the Norwalk "ribbon" and they opened the office and showroom at 2 Broad St. last week. The former Overhead Door location on Van Zant Street is now an independent company.

"There needs to be a ribbon in this area," Mark Hunihan said. "People have someone to call now. It's needed."

The Norwalk location has two full-time employees and provides work for trained and certified technicians.

"Mark and Cathy have a great reputation in the industry. They've done a great job over the years," Patrick Kelly, operations manager for the Norwalk office, said. "The residential and commercial potential here is great."

Overhead Door features doors made of custom wood, vinyl, aluminum and insulated steel. They offer a variety of designs and can make doors specific to designs as well. One door in the showroom features an aluminum frame and frosted glass panels that allow light into the garage.

"We offer quick and quality service to our own brand and other brands -- both residential and commercial," Mark Hunihan said. "I really want to hit the commercial market here. If a business can't ship and receive, they are out of business. There are a lot of competitors down here, but we have a brand name and a warrantee with corporate backing. It's genuine and the original."

According to the company's website, its founder C.G. Johnson invented the upward-lifting garage door in 1921. There are more than 450 "Ribbon Distributors" in the U.S.

Mark Hunihan handles the "nuts and bolts" of the business, while Cathy takes care of the finances and marketing. Apparently the arrangement works.

"In 1994 the idea was to get Brookfield up and going. It was very personal to us and we were very proud to have our own franchise," Mark Hunihan said. "We made and exceeded our quotas so when other areas came up they (corporate) look to us first."